McManus replacing underperforming Narveson: The Green Bay Packers signed Brandon McManus to take the position of struggling rookie kicker Brayden Narveson, and he is back in the NFL.
On Wednesday, the Packers declared that McManus had joined them. Meanwhile, Narveson, who had a league-high five missed field goals, had been released.
The NFL announced late last month that it could not uncover enough proof to back up allegations that McManus had sexually assaulted two women who were working as flight attendants during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2017 trip to London. This action follows that announcement.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst stated, “Obviously he wouldn’t be available right now if those accusations weren’t out there, but I think the league did a really thorough investigation, and we leaned on that as we went through it.” This entailed that McManus replacing underperforming Narveson would be for the best.
The Florida Duval County Circuit Court is still handling the civil lawsuit.
When asked if the group had looked into the claims on its own, Gutekunst answered in the negative.
Referring to the NFL’s probe, Gutekunst stated, “Our investigation was really linking with that.” “But at the same time, we obviously experience those things with every acquisition we make.”
Additionally, Gutekunst stated he had spoken with McManus on Tuesday.
“We wanted to ensure that we carried out our thorough investigation,” Gutekunst stated. Once more, from where we are right now, we are quite happy about that. We are eager to introduce him to the public.
The women claim that on September 28, 2023, while they were attempting to carry out their work duties, McManus attempted to kiss one. He also rubbed up against both of them in court documents that were first filed in late May under pseudonyms. Again in early September, he used their names after a judge decided the lawsuit did not meet the requirements for anonymity. The group was en route to England for two games.
After missing his sixth field goal of the season, which is the worst in the league, on Sunday in a 34-13 victory over Arizona, the 33-year-old now plays for Green Bay. Since losing out on Mason Crosby, the team’s all-time top scorer who held the position from 2007 to 22, the Packers have had difficulty locating a consistent kicker.
Anders Carlson had a dismal rookie campaign after being chosen by Green Bay. He was Chosen out of Auburn in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. In the fourth quarter of a 24-21 playoff loss to San Francisco, he could’nt make a 41-yard field goal. The Packers took a different approach and claimed Narveson off of the Tennessee Titans’ waiver list. This was after Carlson and seasoned player Greg Joseph faced off for the position during training camp.
This season, Narveson was 12 of 17 on field goal tries; none of his efforts came from more than 49 yards.
Brayden is a young kicker with a lot of promise, according to Gutekunst. However, he’s still young. He is experiencing a few things for the first time. Given the current state of our football team, I believe we understand the significance of these games. I believed it was critical that we get a veteran kicker if we had the chance. One who has experienced some of the pressure and heat that our team will face over the coming several weeks. In actuality, Brandon was the only person present.
McManus is a native of Philadelphia who attended Temple for his collegiate football. He played for the Denver Broncos for his first nine seasons. He then joined them again for the 2015 season when they won the Super Bowl. In 2023, he was a player for Jacksonville.
He has made 81.4% of his career field goals. McManus has made 90.8% of his other attempts (208 of 229) but only 54.9% of his career efforts from at least 50 yards (45 of 82).
Additionally, McManus has 312 of 321 extra-point tries made, or 97.2% of the total.
During the previous season, he was 30 of 37 for field goals and 35 of 35 for extra points while playing for the Jaguars. In a separate transaction, on Wednesday, wide receiver Malik Knowles was also acquired by the Packers to the practice squad.
Steve Megargee, an AP sports writer from Green Bay, Wisconsin, provided contributions for this article.
